Customer Reviews

The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness (S U N Y Series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology)

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this book is a must read for anyone sincerely searching self knowledge. it covers much ground regarding the magnificence of life and existence itself. breathtakingly deep and broad in its scope: personal experience of "God", ways to find "God". the validity of personal mystical experience, ways of getting there, the reason evil exists, the nature of ultimate good, the list goes on and on. Stanislav Grof is a master of the transpersonal and speaks "as one having authority". i can't possibly rate this book highly enough. buy it! its a feast for the mind as well as the heart.

Grof has written a super book that describes the many aspects of spiritual development. He aligns his core thoughts along the thoughts of Ken Wilber. This how ever is not Wilberian book and has many original insights, not mere theory. Grof is a gifted psychiatrist with no axe to grind. He, unlike Wilber who believes his theories hold and explain everyone else's theories, is much more open and unthreatened. He brings different viewpoints to his writing, without claiming to be the end all or have the last word. Get this book, you will not be let down.

The book amazed me up to a certain level. It was very thorough and I found the topics pretty interesting. While searching for some answers about who we are, this book has convinced me that maybe the questions were and are wrong. I recommend everyone interested in parapsychology, reincarnation and issues like that read this book. Especially the chapter about good and evil was full of ideas that had never crossed my mind. Very fulfilling.

While containing a lot of fascinating theory which was better presented in his previous book Beyond The Brain. I've grown very skeptical of taking spiritual exercises out of the context spiritual systems in which they originate are used (In this case yoga, as taught under the direct guidance of a teacher in India). Using hyperventilation (and copy-writing it as Holotropic Breathwork) in order to induce uncontrolled release of psychic images and energy from the unconscious for no clear purpose can often be disastrous and is usually pointless. I recommend this book though not necessarily it's practices. Especially practicing this in groups where no precautions for the indiscriminate mingling of the energies of people's catharses. Also tetany (the painful spasms of the hands and feet as a great spiritual experience. If anyone bothers to read Israel Regardie's essay 'Meditation' which can be found in his book "Foundations of Practical Magic" is something that can be gently moved through by the resuming normal breathing and taking up normal tasks, and if need be breathing into a paper bag. It is not something that you should be made to work through painfully. It is also a sign that you haven't done progressive muscle relaxation and or stretching exercises (which are the foundation of Yoga). Which will often prevent the occurrence of tetany and other Prana-Bindu blocks that can arise when doing any type of breathing exercise. Israel Regardie, in addition to being a true adapt in the Golden Dawn tradition was familiar with very familiar eastern techniques of meditation and was a Reichian Therapist.

All in and all this is an interesting book, it is basically is a lamentation that it is too bad the author can't experiment on himself or his patients with large quantities of LSD. But here is a viable substitute (not really). I don't recommend either practice. I think if you want to learn more about LSD read Albert Hoffman's books.

Also, his association with and failure to repudiate false Swami Muktanda who was among other things a serial sexual abuser of young pre-pubescent girls, makes him and his wife, Christina Grof, suspect in my eyes.

Worth borrowing from the public library, but that's about it.

Grof tries to answer the basic questions about the nature of reality depending on his 40 year research on psychedelics and consciousness. In his attempt he links the pre-industrial cultural flora with modern scientific findings. An amazing and shcoking book for those who assume to live in a material world.

joining the split between ancient wisdom and our scientific times, a deligthful text about the mysteries of existence, and some interesting answers about our nature like human beings in this loving planet

Grof presents the imaginative realm of human consciousness and its return towards the "holotropic" state. He shares his insight into the psyche of the inward realm where exploration brings you to the mountaintop of existance; this is where the blissful states of the Enlightened mind awaits.

While initialy intruiged by this summary of his life's work, I was very dissappointed to see Grof listing as fact a story of coincidence which did not ever happen and, in fact, was apparently first told as a joke by Buddy Hacket. For those of you that buy this book, the story of Neil Armstrong and Mr. Gorsky is not true. This laziness on Grof's part makes me question the other "unbeleivable" passages he casually mentions. Entire careers are ruined on this type of careless error.